McGuireWoods has appointed Hamid Namazie, a highly regarded banking and finance lawyer, as office managing partner in charge of the firm’s downtown Los Angeles office.

Namazie assumed his duties on Dec. 4, succeeding nationally prominent litigator Gregory Evans. Evans founded McGuireWoods’ downtown Los Angeles office when his firm was acquired two years ago. In addition to continuing his national trial and litigation practice, Evans will now help the firm expand its West Coast litigation practice. He also will continue to serve in firm leadership through his service on McGuireWoods’ Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Evans will continue his board positions with several national and local charitable and philanthropic organizations, including the YMCA, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Catholic Charities of Los Angeles.

“It’s an honor to assume the responsibility of guiding this office, which is a strategically important part of McGuireWoods’ West Coast footprint,” Namazie said. “I am eager to build upon the hard work Greg has devoted to establishing our downtown Los Angeles office.”

McGuireWoods Managing Partner J. Tracy Walker IV, in announcing the appointment, said it is part of the firm’s regular transition of leadership and noted the firm’s deep bench of talent.

“We are blessed that one outstanding lawyer can pass the reins to another who can continue growing our reputation for excellent client service locally and across the country,” Walker said. “Hamid is a superb choice to lead this office, and we thank Greg for his tireless and excellent contributions.”

As a member of one of the nation’s largest and most highly acclaimed finance law practices, Namazie represents banks, institutional lenders, commercial finance companies and hedge funds. His experience includes debtor-in-possession financing, workouts, complex intercreditor issues, cross-border and multicurrency lending structures, widely syndicated loan transactions and exit financing.

Namazie earned his law degree from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 1998, three years after earning his bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA. Evans holds a bachelor of science degree from USC, a master’s degree from UC Berkeley and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.

In 2015, the downtown office became McGuireWoods’ second in the Los Angeles market when Integer Law Corporation — Evans’ boutique firm known for handling high-stakes litigation — joined forces with McGuireWoods. The downtown office, now with 11 lawyers, teams up with the Century City office and its 44 lawyers in the Los Angeles area. McGuireWoods’ third California office opened in San Francisco in 2016 and has 26 attorneys.